Oliver Solberg holds onto his lead in Rally Chile after an intense Saturday, but Sebastien Ogier continues to pressure Elfyn Evans for second place. With a 19.1-second gap over Evans, Solberg can't relax as Ogier is just 1.3 seconds behind Evans.
Tight Battle in the Morning Loop
The top four – Solberg, Evans, Adrien Fourmaux, and Ogier – were nearly inseparable in Saturday's morning loop. Solberg and Evans set identical times after three stages, with Fourmaux just 0.1 seconds slower and Ogier another 0.2 seconds back. This left Solberg leading by 10.1 seconds, while Ogier trailed third-placed Fourmaux by 1.9 seconds.
Ogier Turns Up the Heat in the Afternoon
However, Ogier turned the screw in the afternoon. After overhauling Fourmaux on the first stage out of service, Ogier kept the pressure on. Fourmaux, who gambled on three soft tires and one hard, lost 8.2 seconds to Ogier on SS12, the longest stage. Front splitter damage on his Hyundai made matters worse, leaving him frustrated with the tire performance.
"It's a very big nightmare to work with those tires to be fair," said a frustrated Fourmaux. "There was no abrasiveness in Paraguay and the tires were just exploding, and here it's like a cheese wrap."
Evans Holds Off Ogier
Evans, the championship leader, also came under pressure from Ogier. Starting the final stage of the day just 0.3 seconds ahead, Evans responded by pipping Ogier by a second on SS12 to head into Sunday 1.3 seconds ahead. "I can't be fully satisfied with the afternoon, we'd have hoped to be faster," Evans surmised.
Meanwhile, Solberg saved his best until last: winning the stage by 3.7 seconds and making up all the time in the final downhill section. "That's the key: every time, every year, the last four years it's been the same," Solberg said. "The first stage tomorrow is extremely difficult, but at least we've got a small gap now which is very nice. For the championship's sake I need to do my classic powerstage and Sunday don't I? So I'll do my best."
Other Positions
Sami Pajari lies in fifth, 44.4 seconds down on fourth-placed Fourmaux and over a minute off the lead. Esapekka Lappi is sixth for Hyundai ahead of M-Sport's Josh McErlean and WRC2 leader Yohan Rossel, who scorched to a 58-second advantage over championship leader Robert Virves.
With Sunday's decisive stages, Solberg must be wary of Ogier's hunger for victory and Evans fighting to hold his position. Rally Chile is still wide open.
Baca Juga
Oliver Solberg mendominasi SS12 Rally Chile dan unggul 19 detik atas Elfyn Evans. Simak analisis lengkap dan klasemen sementara di sini.
Oliver Solberg memimpin Rally Chile 2026 dengan keunggulan 19,1 detik, sementara Sebastien Ogier menekan Elfyn Evans untuk posisi kedua. Simak analisis lengkapnya.
Rally Chile BioBio diwarnai insiden rollover Thierry Neuville dan sejumlah pembalap lain. Oliver Solberg masih memimpin, sementara Neuville dipastikan tidak restart.
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